Convinced Hamas attack due to India-Middle East corridor: Joe Biden

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, October 26

US President Joe Biden has said that he is convinced that one of the reasons why Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel was due to the announcement of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking in Central Asia, reposed faith in the project, saying it would promote economic prosperity.

Biden said his assumption was based on his instinct and he did not have any proof for it. “I’m convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when it did, and I have no proof of this, just my instinct tells me, is because of the progress we were making towards regional integration for Israel, and regional integration overall. We can’t leave that work behind,” Biden said.

Hamas had launched a murderous attack inside Israel on October 7 that killed over 300 soldiers and 1,100 civilians, including women and children. It also kidnapped over 200 Israelis, many holding dual citizenship of western countries.

This is the second time after the Hamas attack that Biden has mentioned the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) as a potential reason.

Meanwhile, speaking in Bishkek, Jaishankar said the IMEEC and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) would bring economic stability to the region. Both corridors are being backed by different sets of actors and India is the only common country in them.

“I am confident that the IMEEC and the INSTC could become enablers in bringing economic prosperity to the region,” said Jaishankar while speaking at the SCO heads of government meeting. At the same time connectivity initiatives should always respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, added the minister, who also tweeted a video of the opening ceremony that featured a Hindi song.

The IMEEC is seen as a direct competitor to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) while the INSTC is seen as an indirect challenger. The IMEEC runs broadly from the East to the West, just like the BRI, whereas the INSTC runs from the North to the South. Jaishankar also sounded a warning about intemperate investments. “We should bear in mind that the Global South should not be saddled with unviable debt arising from opaque initiatives,” he said in this respect.

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